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Banned pesticide, other chemicals found in river
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 21:05:00 07/18/2010
 
DIGOS CITY—Traces of endosulfan, a banned pesticide, and other highly
toxic chemicals were found in waters of the Guihing River in a Davao
del Sur town where a massive fish kill occurred on June 24.
 
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in Southern
Mindanao conducted tests on water samples taken from the river after
the fish kill and confirmed the presence of the chemicals.
 
The report, released on Monday and signed by BFAR regional director
George Campeon, also said it found traces of other agricultural
chemicals such as chlorothalonil, a fungicide and diazinon, an
organophosphate pesticide, from water samples taken from the river on
the day of the fish kill.
 
These chemicals are highly toxic to aquatic species, the report said.
 
But the report did not specify the source of the contamination.
 
A number of rice farms are found upstream while Lapanday, an
agricultural company owned by the family of former agriculture
secretary Luis Lorenzo, also operates a banana plantation along the
Guihing River.
 
The BFAR said the presence of the chemical substances could have
caused the fish kill although other factors lead to the phenomenon.
 
“Other factors were also noted like sudden changes in weather and too
much heat,” BFAR assistant regional director Fatma Idris said in a
phone interview.
 
She said test results also showed that there was a decrease in oxygen
levels in the river.
 
Pamela Hernandez, Paligue village chair, said the findings had
confirmed villagers’ fear about harmful chemicals finding its way into
the Guihing River.
 
The river empties into the sea and similar contamination in the future
could also threaten other marine life, she said.
 
Idris said the proper disposal of farm chemicals should be observed to
avoid water contamination.
 
The June 24 fish kill was the second in Hagonoy.
 
In 2007, the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) blamed the Davao
Sugar Central Co. (Dasuceco) for the massive fish kill that occurred
in the Guihing River.
 
The EMB said Dasuceco dumped hot water into the river, which killed
nearly a ton of various fish species. Orlando B. Dinoy, Inquirer
Mindanao